T3W: Reunion
by Sebastian Cusstellanos
Summary: After disappearing for another 2 years, Kidman finally reveals the fate of Sebastian's missing partner.
1. Chapter 1

uhhh story takes place after the main events of tew2, its my first time writing so there will be lots of choppy paragraphs n shit, i'll pick up experiences as i go. thanks for reading as well, if you do i mean ;-;

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 **Chapter 1: Unravel**

"Daaaad! Someone's calling!" Lily called from the living room.

I was preparing dinner in the kitchen. Mac and cheese, as usual. "Can you answer that for me, Lily? Daddy's busy!"

She gasped. I quickly rushed to her, my head loaded with worried thoughts of every possible way things could have gone wrong.

"Lily! What's wrong?!"

"Oh! Nothing, dad! It's just that Miss Juli is on the phone. She wants to talk to you!"

Juli... Kidman?

Lily handed me the phone. It felt heavier than usual.

"Lily. Daddy will… uh, take care of that, alright? I need to answer this in private, so can you go up your room for me?"

"Alrighty!"

Lily dashed up the stairs. A familiar voice rang up against my ear as I answered the phone; a voice I haven't heard in two years.

"Hello, Sebastian."

"You have some nerve calling me up like this after all those times I had to leave a message, Kidman."

"I know you're upset Sebastian, but I'd like it if we could start on a friendlier note. We were once partners in the KCPD after all."

"You promised to keep in touch with me, which you didn't. You'd think a pupil would have a bit more respect for their tutor. No level of effort or dedication like what you used to show is going to change that, Kid."

"Haven't been called that for a while."

"I didn't mean it in a 'friendlier note,' mind you. The only reason I haven't hung up yet is because you helped reunite me with my daughter. Where've you been, and why did you hide from me again?"

"It's a long story..."

It's always a long story, isn't it?

"...but I need your help, Sebastian."

"I thought being a well-experienced MOBIUS agent would do something-"

"It's about Joseph."

My heart wrenched as my breathing became slightly unsteady. The normal, quiet night in my apartment felt a little bit quieter.

"This better not be a joke."

"Sebastian. I know I've told you to leave it for another time to discuss about this. Well, that time's now. I also know how much Joseph meant to you as both a partner and a friend and how far you've tried to go in learning the truths about him. So I need you to stay calm for what I'm about to tell you, okay?"

"Just get on with it already."

"I've been trying to find his whereabouts for the past 5 years. Joseph's got something in him that the MOBIUS is interested about. Enough to keep him hidden from me. The incident that happened two years ago was the key for me to infiltrate the data regarding what have they been doing to him."

"What did you find?"

"I managed to locate where he's being held captive. Seems like they built an underground base somewhere in Krimson City. Took me a while to dust it off with the cover-up they pulled. I'll send you the details to your computer."

"It's been two years since STEM was shut down, Kidman. What if it's too late?"

"The MOBIUS won't reach it before you do."

I pulled the phone away from my face, head going blank. Recollecting what I could of myself, I pressed it back closely to my cheek.

"Is Joseph the new core?"

"We don't know. But judging by the less-than-ethical experiments they did on Ruvik, I have the feeling they'll go as far as they need to get that answer."

"Kidman?"

"I'm listening."

"When can I start?"


	2. Into the Darkness

"Daddy?"

"Yes, Lily?"

"What kind of person was Juli when she was younger?"

"A turncoat," were the only two words that came to my mind.

"The person who helped protect the one thing that mattered most to me in the world," were the words that actually came out of my mouth.

"What's that?"

I kissed Lily on her forehead, causing her to giggle a little. Her pink and creamy white bed was just as adorable as she was, as she stared back up at me with eyes just like her mother's.

I ran my fingers through her hair, gently caressing it. "You already know the answer."

Lily smiled, her eyes drooping. She turned over on her bed. "Mm… Goodnight, daddy."

"Goodnight, sweetheart," I said as I got up from the chair by her bed.

I slowly closed the door to her room and quickly rushed to my working table. I'm not sure if I'm ready enough to meet Joseph, but five years is already too long of a wait.

I opened the computer to check the mail that Kidman sent to me earlier. It's been four hours since we last talked, and four hours was all she was giving me to collect my bearings.

It's time.

I packed myself up with everything that could help me in this "mission." I came across my trusty revolver, resting peacefully in its holster.

"Hey there, old pal." I said as I picked it up.

A beautifully crafted, Colt M1917 revolver with the barrel group and sights of the Smith Wesson Model 25, held together by a smooth wooden handle. The perfect companion for an old-timer like me.

I strapped the holster on, carefully fixing it to fit my body and put the revolver in. Feels just like old times when I was working in the KCPD; most police agencies have switched over to automatic pistols, but this fellow could still do quite a job.

As I walked out of my apartment, my phone rang. Kidman must've gotten the message.

"Ready for some action, Sebastian? I'll be waiting downstairs."

My heart pounded more heavily in every step I took. The closer I got to Kidman, the smaller the spaces between each of my breaths became. When I walked out on the streets, she was there, waiting for me next to a jeep. She looked up at my home.

"Two floors, huh? Nice house, but I bet for a man of your caliber you think it's nothing special, right?"

I crossed my arms. "You had four hours to figure out a way to greet me in person and that was the best you could come up with?"

"I'm an agent, Sebastian. Not your new, friendly neighbor who just moved in with a plate of tea and crumpets." She got inside the driver's side of the jeep, cocking her head towards the other front seat. "Get in."

I entered the passenger's seat, clipping on my seatbelt as the jeep's engine came to life with a powerful rumble. Kidman pressed her foot against the accelerator and we were off.

"What's the plan, Kid?"

"We'll meet up with Tatiana at the safe house, not too far away from the gates. She'll be our guide. You will be, of course, dropped in STEM, but miles away from the core. You'll have to find your way back to Joseph yourself. Me and few others have managed to build a STEM connector that's hooked up to the machine at a moderate distance, which means you won't be detected-"

"Wait, who are the 'others?'"

"You'll see. We don't have much time left."

The jeep's loud engine continued to pierce through the night as I looked back. The apartment Myra and I worked so hard for after the "fire accident" was fading away, soon to be consumed by darkness.

"I'm hoping this mission won't be taking too long," I said, my eagerness showing a bit too clearly.

Kidman gave a small chuckle. "If you think confronting Joseph after five years is an easy job, then yes. It won't take too much time and effort."

Knowing Joseph, it probably would.

"It's just going to be like when I rescued Lily," I thought to myself, trying my best to ease the worried thoughts. I took a deep breath…

"Nervous?" Kidman asked, her gaze less as sharp as it was before.

"Well, yeah…"

"Need some music to go along? Radio's all yours."

I reached over and turned the knob. Channel 38; a familiar tune started to emerge.

"[You are now listening to the Safe Haven broadcast. How much longer would I needed here?]"


	3. An Ordinary World

We've been driving for a while, all I could see were trees, no signs of buildings or houses whatsoever. It seems like a forest is always the best cover for an underground base, or maybe I just watch too many movies.

I checked the time on my watch, it was already midnight. How much longer was it going to take Kidman to get to the safe-

Kidman made an abrupt stop. "We're here."

"Argh! What did I tell you from doing an immediate break? You can hurt someone from that!" I turned to Kidman while grunting from the shock.

"Just because you are an 'old man' doesn't mean I will go easy on you," she chuckled, "besides, you've gone through much worse, I don't believe a mere shock can give out such a big reaction like that."

I mumbled, unpleasant with that answer.

"C'mon," she opened the car door and dropped out, "the team is waiting for you."

I took my luggage and exited the vehicle. In front of us stood an abandoned house, with molds growing on the walls. Old dusty broken windows with spiderwebs hanging in the corners and a badly damaged wooden door. Is this really a safe house?

We took a step in and were greeted with the sights of several broken furnitures, lying all over the place.

"Are you sure this is the place?"

Kidman seemed to notice my question but ignored it. She walked to the middle of the floor and crouched down, grabbing onto what appeared to be a handle, pulling it. A hatch popped up, complete with ladders leading straight into the underground. She's always been packed with surprises.

"Well, what are you waiting for?"

I gave a light smirk. "Ladies first."

Kidman replied with a soft laugh and started climbing down. I closed the hatch once I'm in.

The road down was deep, I guess it was a way to keep the safe house undetected.

"It's dark down here." I squinted my eyes, hoping to see a bit of light.

Kidman reached to her pocket flashlight and turned it on, revealing the void to be a long hallway. She took a few step towards the wall and pressed a switch.

The lights came up, making the long hallway more visible. I looked around, the walls were clean, a bit dusty but still better than the mess above. At the end was a steel door shut tight. There wasn't much signs of people coming in and out of this place. For the sake of the safe house, of course.

We walked along the hallway. Sounds of our steps echoing, bounced off the walls. I turned to Kidman, deciding to break the silence.

"So, how long did it take your team to build this up?"

"Oh, this wasn't ours to begin with. During my investigation I discovered that Ruvik and Dr. Jimenez had a secret project similar to what STEM is today."

"A prototype?"

"Yes, something like that. The machine could only connect to two person at a time, where the world was created by blending two minds into one. Finding a pair that could synchronize almost perfectly was near impossible."

"So, the project was scrapped?"

"Correct. Though the method still works, we couldn't find anyone that has a more 'stabilized' connection to Joseph."

"And you've come to me?"

"Exactly. You're the key to get him out of this."

That means I'm his... other half?

"Why does it sounds like… a relationship problem?" I cleared out my throat, trying to not feel awkward.

"Sounds like confronting your angry wife."

We approached the steel door, Kidman reached over a numpad and input some sort of a code.

"[Access granted. Agent Kidman. Juli. Welcome back.]"

"Come, Tatiana wants to meet you."

The door automatically closed when we got into the safe house. The team might've had all the answers to my questions, and the key to get Joseph out of this mess.

"It's nice to see a familiar face again, Mr. Castellanos." were the words Tatiana first spoke when we met. The same monotonic voice I heard and talked to when I was in STEM still gave me an uneasy feeling, but it was a comfort.

I shook her hand in respond, showing my manners. She still looked the same since the Beacon Mental Hospital events, only a tad older.

"It's seems that Agent Kidman have informed you about this job."

"I'm willing to do anything to bring Joseph back, whatever the cost."

"You will meet him soon. Come along, Mr. Castellanos."

Tatiana led us to the center of the facility. A single STEM connector was there, wired up with various gadgets suspended in the air. Finally, the entrance to a new nightmare, the path that I had to take.

"I'm hoping that this will be the last time I use this damned machine."

"I'm certain that it will, sir." A strange voice with heavy Russian accent came up. Stood behind me was a fairly young man with big brown eyes, glistening with hope. He dressed in an engineer attire, I assumed that he was the main mechanician of the team.

"You are…?"

"Jankovic. Ray Jankovic. Nice to meet you, sir."

"You seem pretty young for this job."

"Indeed I am. Miss Kidman saved me when I was being kidnapped, without her, I would've been an another experiment."

"Ray caught MOBIUS's attention with his superior intelligent, much like Ruvik, but more passive. It's a good thing they didn't find him before the Beacon."

"What happens if they did?"

"There would be no machine for you to use, Seb. But in all seriousness, he would be turned into a core if we didn't interfree."

I turned to Ray and he shot me a big smile, I felt… relaxed. How can this kid be so optimistic at the time?

"Mr. Castellanos," Tatiana gave a notice, "there isn't much time left for a casual talk, we need to get you into the machine as soon as possible. Oda is in trouble and he needs you."

I snapped from all the thoughts I've been clogging up with, "R-Right..", I came here for Joseph, not for those meaningless conversation. Ray gave me a brief explanation before aiding me into the machine, he was gentle even though we only had met for the first time.

Kidman went over to check things out before sending me into STEM, she needed to make sure that I was prepared for the trip.

"Now, Seb, this machine could only send you in so far into where Joseph is residing in, you will have to find your way back into him, but don't worry, you are not alone in there. Besides me, there will be another one in the machine."

I gave Kidman a suspicious look, her trying to be ambiguous was growing onto me. I took a deep breath and laid down in the tub, trying to think about what I would do when I got Joseph out. I heard Ray in the distance, talking to Tatiana before activating machine.

The last thing I could remember was… Joseph.

Darkness.

Where am I?

Who am I?

What is this place?

What am I doing here?

What is my purpose?

Joseph.

Joseph.

I need you..

"Gah!" I woke up from the weird whisperings flooding inside my head. I looked around, breathing rapidly as I tried to make out of my surroundings. The smell of a lit cigarette hit me, it smelled… familiar. After struggling with the impact of entering the machine, I could finally see where I was.

"An office?"

I noticed a desk in front of me with various things on it. "Are those… Joseph's?", his gloves, his glasses, his belongings, there were all there. This was Joseph's office, but why would I be dropped here? I expected a more wretched place I could've been dropped in. This was rather… cozy. It smelled just like him, I remember when I would drop by his office with coffee, occasionally inviting him for a light drink. He would say no of course, since he wasn't that good with alcohol, I'd have to carry him back to his apartment everytime we got wasted.

I started to develop my feelings for him.


End file.
